Older vs. Newer Carolina Skiff Decks

Hi,

I am considering buying a 1988 21ft Carolina Skiff to be my workboat. I am going to have to mount a davit style crane to the deck; the installation merits of which are being debated in another thread.

The purpose of this thread is to try and determine the best way to figure out if this boat has the older open cell foam and plywood under the glass deck (early to mid-80s) or the newer closed cell foam and no plywood (late 80s onward). The reason being, is that if it's the former it won't be able to hold a big enough load as it's likely saturated, but if it's the latter, should be fine.

I have a boat VIN and hull #: Pat4495884 and caia0066f888 to go off of and the owner's assurance that it has to be the newer style deck. Unfortunately it's too far for me to travel to inspect before buying and will have it delivered if I buy. The owner claims no soft spots.

Is there a way to know from the year, hull# or other method (drilling a small deck hole, etc.) that could provide a definite answer that anyone knows?

Cheers!